Arkansas County Extension Agent Ana Hollis said it’s always a good idea for individuals to count calories, especially around the holiday season.

“Sometimes people are eating stuff that they don’t realize has a lot of calories and they think they are getting a light meal,” Hollis said.

According to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service, portion sizes, and Americans, have gotten a lot bigger over the past 20 years. Just 100 extra calories per day can lead to a weight gain of about one pound in a month or about 10 pounds per year.

To maintain a healthy weight, it’s recommended that individuals balance calories in with calories out. Two pieces of pizza now equal 350 more calories than 20 years ago, which equals an hour of playing golf.

Arkansas County Health Unit Administrator Wanda Vester said a lot of restaurants are voluntarily starting to post calorie counts on their menus, which is a great idea.

“I don’t think people in the public, in general, are aware of all the calories in food,” Vester said. “I think the awareness is not at the level it should be to make good choices.”

The extension service recommends that the best way to receive the balanced nutrition that the body needs is by eating a variety of nutrient-packed foods each day while staying within the daily calorie recommended.

Vester said many are not able to purchase fruits and vegetables because of the expense, so the health unit recommends growing a garden or visiting the farmer’s market when possible. There are also more grass roots activities taking place in the community to help residents, especially school children, learn more about the positive healthy choices they should make.

It is also recommended the following ways to maintain a calorie balance and a healthy weight. The first is to read the nutrition facts label, especially the calories and servings in each package. The other tips are:

• Go online before you go out to eat at a restaurant to check calorie information. Many restaurants now post calorie information on-site on menu boards and menus.

• Switch your dairy. Choose fat free milk, fat free or low fat yogurt, and low fat cheese to get the calcium you need while keeping the calories in check.

Page 2 of 2 - • Prepare food at home to control the fat and sugar that is added as well as the portion size.

• Include more vegetables, fruits and whole grains in your diet to help feel full with few calories.

• Limit mindless snacking by serving small portions and putting the rest of the package back in the cupboard. Eating directly from the box often means eating more calories than needed.

• Get moving. If already active, then increase the amount done each day. If not currently active, start with 10 minutes of physical activity a few days a week and increase over time.

It helps to watch the amount of empty calories being consumed. Empty calories are the calories gained from solid fats and added sugars that have few or no nutrients. These calories are most gained from items such as cakes, pastries, sodas, energy drinks, cheese, pizza and ice cream.

“Following the 2010 Dietary guidelines and using resources found on myplate.gov is the best way to make sure you are consuming what you should,” Holis said. “You may not need to count calories, but you need to make your calories count.”

It’s also important to study the food label, which uses 2,000 calories as the general reference point. According to the extension service, individuals should keep saturated fats, transfats, cholesterol and sodium low while making sure to get enough of potassium, fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. The percentage Daily Value (DV) column should be used when possible — five percent or less is low while 20 percent or more is high.

The extension service also recommends checking the nutrition label for:

• Check the serving size and how many servings you are actually being consumed. If the servings ate are doubled, then the calories and nutrients, including the percentage DVs, are doubled.

• Make calories count by looking at the calories on the label and comparing them to what nutrients is being received to decide whether the food is worth eating. It is high in calories if one serving of a single food item has more than 400 calories per serving.

• Sugars contribute calories with few, if any, nutrients so look for food and beverages low in added sugars. Make sure added sugars are not one of the first few ingredients. Added sugar is caloric sweeteners, which include sucrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, maple syrup and fructose.

• Look for foods low in saturated fats, transfats and cholesterol to help reduce the risk of heart disease. Most of the fats ate should be polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories.